Harmony Korine

There are two kinds of teenagers: those who get all choked up with happiness at the end of movies like Dirty Dancing or Can’t Hardly Wait and those who prefer ice-cold comedies like Heathers. As your Flavorwire editors have always fallen into the latter camp, we were intrigued (and cautiously optimistic) to learn, last week, that Heathers is getting a small-screen reboot. In fact, the news inspired us to compile a list of the dark teen movies we love the most, all of which we’ll probably re-watch in anticipation of the TV series. The selections after the jump range from black humor to true tragedy (but we’ve left out teen horror flicks because that’s a whole other post). What ties them together is the rare acknowledgment that high school isn’t all dances, football games, and makeovers.
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Danish filmmaker and journalist Mads Brügger boasts a first name that seems worthy of his work, which he has dubbed “performative journalism.” He went undercover as a European Ambassador in the war-torn Central African Republic (CAR), armed with hidden cameras and credentials obtained on the black market. There, he brokered deals with corrupt blood diamond kingpins, leisurely traded diplomatic titles, and exposed a litany of murder, bribery, and bureaucrats from hell. The Ambassador balances a dark absurdity with terrifying revelations of exploitation, shocking fraudulence, and greed. The film opens in New York today, and we thought this would be a good time to explore some of cinema’s most controversial figures (mainly directors) — several of which Brügger has been compared to. The Huffington Post called him the “most provocative filmmaker in the world.” See if you agree after viewing our gallery after the jump.
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1. The lineup for this year’s Venice Film Festival has been announced, and among the 17 films in competition are new works from Terrence Malick (To The Wonder), Brian De Palma (Passion), and Harmony Korine (Spring Breakers). [via ArtsBeat]

2. If you didn’t grab a copy on Record Store Day, you can stream… Read More

Well, James Franco has done it again — he’s gotten himself into a pop-culture Mad Lib of a news item, and this time it isn’t even entirely his fault. You see, Franco is set to star in the upcoming Harmony Korine comedy Spring Breakers, which also stars Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens (really!), because the… Read More

1. Filmmaker Harmony Korine’s super weird new video for the Black Keys’ “Gold on the Ceiling” (a song which already had a music video) features Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach as adult babies who are lugging around tinier baby versions of themselves. Really, you just need to watch it to understand.… Read More

Checking in on James Franco’s artistic efforts, the actor/artist/curator/writer/human-meta has just premiered his exhibit Rebel at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, featuring the work of Ed Ruscha, Terry Richardson, Paul McCarthy, Damon McCarthy, Harmony Korine, Aaron Young, Douglas Gordan, Galen Pehrson, Ed Ruscha and, of course, James Franco. The show interprets Nicolas Ray’s 1955 classic Rebel Without a Cause — one of Franco’s very well known obsessions — through sculpture, short film, and mixed media. Hosted at a pop-up annex location inside a 20,000 furniture exhibition space on Highland Avenue, it clusters in and around Paul McCarthy and his son Damon McCarthy’s recreation of Bungalow 2 at the Chateau Marmont, where Ray wrote and rehearsed Rebel Without a Cause with James Dean and Natalie Wood. One disturbed visitor described the experience as being “stranded in the psychotic maze of a serial murderer’s madhouse — as the environment incorporated circus tent colors, street graffiti, and disturbing raw sexual and murderous noises.” Here are a few press images of Bungalow 2’s contents. You’ll have to imagine the “noises.”
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[Editor’s note: While your Flavorwire editors take a much-needed holiday break, we’re revisiting some of our most popular features of the year. This post was originally published August 10, 2011.] Earlier this summer, a shocking number of our readers flocked to read (and amend) our list of the harshest author-on-author insults in history. But you know who is even more childish, trifling, vindictive, and nasty than your favorite scribes? Your favorite filmmakers. These directors may not have quite the same precision with the written word as those rancorous authors, but when it comes to pettiness, they can’t be beat. After the jump, we’ll run down 30 of our favorite slights, slanders, and cheap shots from filmmakers both classic and contemporary; we’d love to hear yours in the comments.
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Holiday-party season is upon us, which means you’ve probably encountered at least one round of Secret Santa, whether it’s at work or among friends. Of course, this also means you’re faced with the conundrum of finding something cool without spending too much. Because we all know that the two things most important with Secret Santa gifts are that 1) they shouldn’t actually set you back financially, and 2) they need to demonstrate your thoughtfulness, creativity, and utter coolness, impressing the pants off the recipient and everyone involved. We already took inspiration from the release of Madden NFL 12 from our friends at EA Sports to give you ideas on how to enjoy the holidays at home; now we’re using it as the jumping-off point to help you find some top-notch gifts that will leave you feeling smugger than Mr. Claus himself. Whether your recipient is a football fanatic, a culture vulture, or a sartorial junkie, here’s a plethora of thrifty gifts that will make you wish your own Secret Santa had this list.
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1. Last night, while co-hosting the 2011 Mayor’s Awards for Arts and Culture at Lincoln Center, the always adorable Alec Baldwin introduced himself as the city’s mayor, much to Bloomberg’s feigned dismay. All joking aside, a run for office definitely seems to be in the 30 Rock star’s future plans, wouldn’t you say? [via … Read More

Trainspotting. Empire Records. Reality Bites. The Crow. Pump Up the Volume. The list of ’90s counterculture movies whose popularity has continued into — or been revived in — the 21st century is a long one, full of beloved films (many of which we celebrate on a regular basis at Flavorwire). But what happens when you need a subversive nostalgia fix and yet another viewing of My Own Private Idaho just isn’t going to cut it? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with this list of ten wonderful (or at least entertaining) ’90s counterculture flicks you may have forgotten — or never knew about in the first place. Impress your friends by whipping them out at your next movie night, and add your own picks in the comments.
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